The 2017 Chevy Bolt was spied primping for a pre-CES photo shoot. The full electric car will make its official debut at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show and is expected to roll off of lots in early 2017.
The four door hatchback was spied by photographers from Autoblog. It was the public's first look at the production version of the Chevy Bolt, the car's concept was shown off earlier this year at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show.
The Bolt, not to be confused with the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt, will have a range of 200 miles and a price tag around $30,000 after incentives, which primes it for the coming battle with affordable electric vehicles from Tesla and Nissan.
Nissan's Leaf comes it at under $30,000 and luxury EV-manufacturer Tesla Motors is prepping the Model 3, an EV that'll be priced under $40,000.
Tesla's Model 3 is expected to be unveiled early next year, possibly at CES 2016, and it's expected to roll out alongside the Bolt in 2017.
Seeing the huge potential for an affordable EV, General Motors announced earlier this year that it was stepping up its development efforts with the Bolt.
Shortly after the Detroit Auto Show, General Motors North America President Alan Batey announced that his company is preparing to invest $200 million to push the production of Bolt. It did so because of the demand, stated Batey. The Bolt will be built at the automaker's Orion Assembly site in Detroit.
"The message from consumers about the Bolt EV concept was clear and unequivocal: Build it," said Batey after the auto show. "We are moving quickly because of its potential to completely shake up the status quo for electric vehicles."
Next month, the world will get an in-depth look at the 2017 Chevy Bolt at CES 2016 in Las Vegas. A few weeks ago at the LA Auto Show, General Motors Executive Vice President Mark Reuss revealed that the EV would make its debut at the convention in January.
